Castlevania is amazing, but Castlevania is not currently around due to Konami being AWOL. In its stead, you have games like Carpathian Nights Starring Bela Lugosi by developer Tezcatek. Originally kickstarted as its own homage to the Castlevania series, somewhere along the line, they were able to pick up the rights to use the likeness (and a sound clip!) of Bela Lugosi as Dracula, which is BADASS. If you like all things retro, horror, and class Universal Monsters, read on!
Carpathian Nights is not shy about being a Castlevania homage, and I will avoid spoilers and just say that fans of the original NES trilogy will greatly enjoy the atmosphere, story, and references that are found by the plethora in game. The gameplay is solid and immediately familiar for anyone who has ever played a Castlevania-like side scroller at least one in their life. You can choose between either Abbot Dorin, leader of a local warrior monk monastery, who uses a holy spear, or Irinia Dracul, daughter of the dragon himself, who uses a magic whip in a similar vein to the Belmonts (I began with her because that is an epic two for one special!) You can jump, attack with your (upgradable weapon), or utilize spellcasting with your mana. The secret finding and magic use is where it takes a page out of the later Metroidvania-styled game, and although fans may be disappointed in the lack of traditional sub weapons, they get the job done. You can play through the campaign as either character, and both are fun, yet similar, in their own right.
Possibly controversial for fans of the genre will be the game’s difficulty. Though it has some challenging areas, to a veteran, they will be a breeze. The checkpoints are also frequent enough that you rarely lose a lot of progress upon death, which is amazing for new players and keeping my blood pressure in check, however it may be to the point of being too easy for experienced players. Either way, I think both old and new players will enjoy the adventure and the care put into it regardless.
The visuals and sound, as mentioned, are as perfect as the retro style can offer. Whether it’s a decaying castle or hell itself, the environments are meticulously detailed, and I always love seeing backers put into games like this, particularly vampirized portraits of themselves adoring the backgrounds of the levels. It makes the world both in and out of the game feel bigger, and you can tell the adoration that the fans and developers had for the genre. My favorite part, as mentioned, is the voice clip of Bela Lugosi from the original 1931 Universal Pictures Dracula being used during the final boss. I can only imagine the developers were excited to be able to do that, and fans will be as well.
Overall, for seventeen dollars, Carpathian Nights Starring Bela Lugosi is a decent offering for the genre, but an absolutely great love letter to both the classic Universal Monsters, particularly Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, and the Castlevania franchise. It is easy for newer players to pick up and trek through versus the classics, so it will be more approachable for a wider audience. Definitely a personal recommendation from this reviewer, who is probably one bat short of a belfry!
Rating: 8.5/10
Carpathian Nights Starring Bela Lugosi is available for PC via Steam.
Related: Reviews by Matt O’Toole
Your local neighborhood nutjob, gamer, and teacher! I'm an avid fan of many genres such as platformers, shooters, horror, etc. I am also an avid tabletop gamer - hugely into the worlds of Warhammer and all of their spinoffs. I'm a big believer in being objective - even if something is not my cup of tea, I want to talk about it on the objective level - is it well made, crafted with love, and with care for the fans? If so, that's a good game in my book for someone and well worth their hard earned dollarydoos!
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